What makes you think rich people are not aware of cryptocurrencies ?
Because bitcoin was created very recently and the founder of the bitcoin was not found for very long and bitcoin has no advertisements so I feels like more people don't know what is bitcoin and even they might heard it but they don't have proper knowledge about bitcoin and why it was created for.
For instance, I can imagine what it would be like when you are paying 12 chickens to someone for a goat, compared to how you can just easily make a transaction in either fiat or cryptocurrency for the goat. Simpler and easier ways of doing things, which is what the technology brings into the whole barter system.
Few centuries back we used to cultivate the vegetables and eat them but now we are paying them money to consume it with fiat money but too in digital form then why you think that virtual money cannot takes that place in few years?